Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
Paper 3 – Science & Technology
Why Should You Know?
Recently the Indian government said that The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), with an operational name of NavIC is as good as GPS of the United States in terms of position accuracy and availability in its service region
In details –
- Government says, India’s satellite-based navigation system, NavIC, is as good as GPS of the United States in terms of position accuracy and availability in its service region.
- Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said,
- NavIC can help in navigation on land, air, sea and also in disaster management.
- NavIC satellites are placed at a higher orbit than the GPS of United States. NavIC satellites are placed in geostationary orbit (GEO) & geosynchronous orbit (GSO) with an altitude of about 36,000 km; GPS satellites are placed in medium earth orbit (MEO) with an altitude of about 20,000 km.
- NavIC uses dual frequency bands, which improves accuracy of dual frequency receivers by enabling them to correct atmospheric errors through simultaneous use of two frequencies. It also helps in better reliability and availability because the signal from either frequency can serve the positioning requirement equally well.
- At the time of inception, an indigenously developed satellite navigation system was conceptualized to cater to requirements of critical national applications, including those of defence and commercial establishments. Hence the coverage area was designed to cover Indian Territory and surrounding 1500 km of Indian borders. The needs of critical national applications do evolve with time and efforts are continuously made to meet these requirements, including from the point of view of coverage.
What is NavIC ?
- The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), with an operational name of NavIC is an autonomous regional satellite navigation system that provides accurate real-time positioning and timing services.
- It covers India and a region extending 1,500 km (930 mi) around it, with plans for further extension. An extended service area lies between the primary service area and a rectangle area enclosed by the 30th parallel south to the 50th parallel north and the 30th meridian east to the 130th meridian east, 1,500–6,000 km (930–3,730 mi) beyond borders.
- The system currently consists of a constellation of seven satellites with two additional satellites on ground as stand-by.
- The system was developed partly because access to foreign government-controlled global navigation satellite systems is not guaranteed in hostile situations, as happened to the Indian military in 1999 when the United States denied an Indian request for Global Positioning System (GPS) data for the Kargil region, which would have provided vital information.
- The Indian government approved the project in May 2006.
Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0
Paper 3- Infrastructure
Why Should You Know?
Recently the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen. (Dr) V. K. Singh (Retd) told about the Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0.
In details –
- Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0 was announced on 27 October 2021 enhancing the existing provisions, mainly focusing on transporting perishable food products from the hilly areas, North-Eastern States and tribal areas.
- For facilitating and incentivising movement of agri-produce by air transportation, Airports Authority of India (AAI) provides full waiver of Landing, Parking charges, Terminal Navigational Landing Charges (TNLC) and Route Navigation Facility Charges (RNFC) for Indian freighters and P2C (Passenger-to-Cargo) Aircraft primarily around 25 airports focusing on North Eastern, Hilly and Tribal region and 28 airports in other regions/areas.
- Further, after evaluation of Krishi Udan 2.0 five more airports have been included, making it to 58 airports.
- Krishi Udan Scheme is a convergence scheme where eight Ministries/Departments namely Ministry of Civil Aviation, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) would leverage their existing schemes to strengthen the logistics for transportation of Agri-produce.
- Currently, Prayagraj airport is included under Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0. All perishable commodities are covered under Krishi Udan Scheme in the country.
- The scheme assists farmers in transporting agriculture products so that it improves their value realisation.
- Krishi Udan scheme provides air transportation and logistics support for perishable agri-produce as per the need.
About Krishi Udan scheme –
- Krishi Udan Scheme was launched in August 2020, on international and national routes to assist farmers in transporting agricultural products so that it improves their value realisation.
- The scheme aims to ensure seamless, cost-effective, time-bound air transportation and associated logistics for all Agri-produce originating especially from Northeast, hilly and tribal regions of the country.
Indian Institute of Heritage
Paper 1 – Art & Culture
Why Should You Know?
The Indian Heritage Institute will soon be set up as a Deemed University to provide higher education and research in areas related to Indian heritage and its conservation.
In details –
- Culture and Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy informed in Rajya Sabha that Indian Heritage Institute will soon be set up as a Deemed University to provide higher education and research in areas related to Indian heritage and its conservation.
- He said that the Indian Heritage Institute would be established at Noida, Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.
- The institute will offer postgraduate and research degrees in subjects such as art history, conservation, museology, archival studies, archaeology, preventive conservation.
- Indian Institute of Heritage will be a world-class university that would focus on the conservation and research in India’s rich tangible heritage, while offering research, development and dissemination of knowledge, excellence in the education of its students and activities associated with heritage that contribute to the cultural, scientific and economic life of India.
- This institute is being set up is deemed to be a university by integrating Institute of Archaeology (Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology), School of Archival Studies under National Archives of India, New Delhi, the National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC), Lucknow, National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology (NMICHM) and Academic Wing of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi.
- Sri Reddy also informed that the Indian Heritage Institute is meant to meet the human resource needs in the entire cultural sector. It is known that the new education policy envisages the inclusion of culture as an integral part of the educational curriculum. Sri Reddy also said that the opening of this institute would encourage the study of museology at a higher level.
What is deemed university?
- The higher education system in India includes both private and public universities. Public universities are supported by the Government of India and the state governments, while private universities are mostly supported by various bodies and societies.
- Universities in India are recognized by the University Grants Commission , which draws its power from the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.
- In addition to this, 15 Professional Councils are established, controlling different aspects of accreditation and coordination.The status of a deemed to be university allows full autonomy in courses, syllabus, admissions and fees.
- The key difference between a deemed university and a university is that a deemed university is not a full-fledged university but is given the status of autonomy provided to a university by allotting it the title of “deemed” by DHE (Department of Higher Education) under MHRD on the advice of UGC.
National Virtual Library of India (NVLI)
Paper 1 – Art & Culture
Why Should You Know?
Recently Union Minister for Culture Shri G.Kishan Reddy gave information about National Virtual Library of India (NVLI), in Rajya Sabha
In details –
- National Virtual Library of India has been developed and launched as Indian Culture Portal (ICP) on 10.12.2019 to showcase all forms of tangible and intangible cultural heritage of India.
Features –
- It has a total of about 3.04 lakh digital artefacts, with metadata. It also has more than 34.91 lakh bibliographic entries.
- The content is presented in 18 curated categories, namely, Rare Books, E-Books, Archives, Gazettes and Gazetteers, Manuscripts, Museum Collections, Paintings, Audios, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Photo Archives, Images, Videos, Content from UNESCO, Research Papers, Indian National Bibliography, Reports & Proceedings, Union Catalogues and Other Catalogues.
- It also has 12 categories of created content, namely, Stories, Snippets, Photo Essays, Forts of India, Textiles and Fabrics of India, Historical Cities of India, Musical Instruments of India, Food and Culture, Virtual Walkthroughs, Freedom Archives – Unsung Heroes, Ajanta Caves and The North- East Archive.
- The portal is currently available in English and Hindi.
- The portal can be accessed through an App called Indian Culture, available on both Android phones and iPhone.
- The portal is available through the Umang App.
An Outreach team –
- The Ministry ensures that all its Organizations handover both bibliographical and digital resources to the National Virtual Library of India for integration on the Indian Culture Portal on a regular basis.
- An Outreach team under the National Virtual Library of India has been constituted for promotion of Indian Culture Portal in Educational Institutions across the Country. Presentations, Events etc. are organised on a daily basis at various Educational Institutions for promotion of Indian Culture Portal (NVLI project)
About National Virtual Library of India (NVLI) –
- The Ministry of Culture, Government of India has decided to setup the National Virtual Library of India (NVLI).
- This is an important part of the larger vision of putting information of the entire Indian cultural heritage in the digital web world.
- One of the major objective is to collect, standardise and collate all available digital assets and/or digital information about physical assets in an easily searchable form.
- One of the key activities in creation of NVLI is the need to involve thousands of people working in domain specific institutes to correctly and comprehensively feed the data available with them.
- Apart from the tens of thousands of libraries, other types of institutes such as museums, heritage sites under ASI, some central and state government departments, institutes of art/music/culture are expected to be vital contributors to this visionary project.
Tribal Freedom Fighters
Paper 1 – History
Why Should You Know?
Recently Ministry of Culture releases the third Comic book on stories of 20 Tribal Freedom Fighters, from the point of view of Civil Services Examination, These are important facts, you must know about these Tribal Freedom Fighters.
In details –
- Ministry of Culture has released the third Comic book on stories of 20 Tribal Freedom Fighters on 2nd August at Tiranga Utsav celebration in New Delhi.
- On the occasion, Union Minister for Home affairs and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, Union Minister for Culture, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs & Culture, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Minister of State for External Affairs, Smt Meenakshi Lekhi were present.
- This collection of stories recalls the sacrifices of some of the bravest men and women who inspired their tribes and gave up their lives to fight British rule
- Ministry of Culture as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKM) has released pictorial books on 75 freedom fighters in collaboration with Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) to create awareness among the youth and children about the supreme sacrifice and patriotism of our lesser known heroes of freedom struggle. The first ACK Comic book on India’s 20 Women Unsung Heroes and Second Comic book on stories of 15 Women elected to the Constituent Assembly has been released earlier.
Tribal freedom fighters –
The tribal freedom fighters, who were unsung heroes of freedom struggle, and whose stories have been included are as follows:
- Tilka Majhi rebelled against the atrocities of the British East India Company. He mobilised the Pahadia tribe to which he belonged and raided the Company treasury. He was hanged.
- Thalakkal Chanthu of the Kurichiyar tribe was an invaluable part of Pazhassi Raja’s war against the East India Company. He was hanged.
- Budhu Bhagat of the Oraon tribe was shot down in one of his many encounters with the British, along with his brother, seven sons and 150 men from his tribe.
- Tirot Singh, a Khasi chief, realised the duplicity of the British and waged war against them. He was captured, tortured and imprisoned. He died in prison.
- Raghoji Bhangre belonged to the Mahadeo Koli tribe. He revolted against the British and continued his struggle even though his mother was imprisoned. He was captured and hanged.
- Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu from the Santhal community, revolted against the British and their stooges. They led the Santhal in the Hul rebellion. Both were betrayed, caught and hanged.
- Rendo Manjhi and Chakra Bisoi of the Khond tribe objected to the British interfering in their customs. Rendo was caught and hanged while Chakra Bisoi became a fugitive and died in hiding.
- The Indian Uprising in Meerut had begun. Nilambar and Pitamber who belonged to the Bhogta clan of the Kharwar tribe were inspired to revolt and led their people to rise up against British oppression. They were both captured and hanged.
- Ramji Gond of the Gond tribe rose against the feudal system by which wealthy landlords oppressed the poor with the support of the British. He was caught and hanged,
- Telanga Kharia of the Kharia tribe, refused to accept the tax system of the British and their governance. He insisted that they follow their traditional method of self-governance and organized raids on the treasury. He was betrayed and shot dead.
- Tantiya Bhil, known as the Robin Hood of the Central Provinces, robbed trains carrying British wealth and distributed it among his tribe, the Bhils. He was trapped and hanged.
- Major Paona Brajabasi of Manipur, fought to defend the kingdom of Manipur. He was the hero of the Anglo-Manipur war. He fought like a lion but was overpowered and beheaded.
- Birsa Munda, of the Munda tribe, became a legend in his opposition to the British. He led the Mundas in a series of confrontations with them. He was caught and imprisoned and according to British records, died of cholera. He was 25 years old when he died.
- , rebelled against the arrogance of the British. He and his companions surrendered to the British as their villages were being burnt. They were sent to the Cellular Jail and died there.
- was inspired by a divine vision to preach to his people and make them aware of the exploitation of their British overlords. He was caught and tortured severely. He was released, a broken man, and died subsequently.
- Malati Mem of the Tea-garden community was inspired to join Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha movement. She fought against the British monopoly over opium and educated her people about the dangers of opium addiction. During an encounter with the police, she was shot dead.
- Laxman Naik of the Bhuyan tribe, was also inspired by Gandhi and campaigned extensively to get tribes to join the freedom movement. The British framed him for the killing of a friend and he was hanged to death.
- Helen Lepcha of the Lepcha tribe, was an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Her influence over her people made the British restless. She was shot at, imprisoned and hounded but she never lost courage. In 1941 she helped Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose escape from house arrest and travel to Germany. She was awarded the Tamra Patra for her invaluable contribution to the freedom struggle.
- Pulimaya Devi Podar heard Gandhi when she was in school and wanted to join the freedom struggle immediately. Despite stiff opposition from her family she joined the movement after her studies and encouraged women to join her. She was imprisoned for her participation in protests. After independence she continued to serve her people and was awarded the title of ‘Swatantra Sainani’.
Laser-Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM)
Paper 3- Security
Why Should You Know?
DRDO successfully test fires indigenously developed laser-guided ATGMs.
In details –
- Indigenously developed Laser-Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) were successfully test-fired from Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Army at KK Ranges with support of Armoured Corps Centre & School (ACC&S) Ahmednagar in Maharashtra on August 04, 2022.
- The missiles hit with precision and successfully destroyed the targets at two different ranges. Telemetry systems have recorded the satisfactory flight performance of the missiles.
- The all-indigenous Laser Guided ATGM employs a tandem High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) protected armoured vehicles.
- The ATGM has been developed with multi-platform launch capability and is currently undergoing technical evaluation trials from 120 mm rifled gun of MBT Arjun.
- Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has complimented DRDO and Indian Army for successful performance of the Laser Guided ATGMs. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the teams associated with the test firing of Laser Guided ATGMs.
Indian Navy’s All Woman Aircrew
Paper 2 – Social Issues
Why Should You Know?
Recently Indian Navy’s All Woman Aircrew Created a History, lets know about it.
In details –
- On 03 August 2022, five officers of the Indian Navy’s INAS 314 based at Naval Air Enclave, Porbandar, created history by completing the first all-women independent maritime reconnaissance and surveillance mission in the North Arabian Sea onboard a Dornier 228 aircraft.
- The aircraft was captained by the Mission Commander, Lt Cdr Aanchal Sharma, who had pilots, Lt Shivangi and Lt Apurva Gite, and Tactical and Sensor Officers, Lt Pooja Panda and SLt Pooja Shekhawat in her team.
- The squadron is commanded by Cdr SK Goyal, a Qualified Navigation Instructor.
- The women officers received months of ground training and comprehensive mission briefings in the run up to this historical sortie.
- The Indian Navy has been a front-runner in driving transformation in the Armed Forces. It’s impressive and pioneering women empowerment initiatives include induction of women pilots, selection of women Air Operations Officers into the helicopter stream and conducting an all-women sailing circumnavigation expedition across the globe in 2018.
- This first-of-its-kind military flying mission was, however, unique and is expected to pave the way for women officers in the aviation cadre to assume greater responsibility and aspire for more challenging roles.
- It perhaps marks a unique achievement for the Armed Forces that a crew of only women officers undertook an independent operational mission in a multi-crew maritime surveillance aircraft.
- Many congratulations to these officers for successfully doing so and inspiring millions of women all across India and the world to break free from all shackles and achieve their dreams.
- It was indeed a mission that showcased “Nari Shakti” in its real spirit.
NIPUN Project
Paper 2 – Social Issues
Why Should You Know?
Recently The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Kaushal Kishoren gave information about NIPUN Project, in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
In details –
- The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Kaushal Kishore in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today informed that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched on June 20, 2022 an innovative project – NIPUN (National Initiative for Promotion of Upskilling of Nirman workers), as part of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).
- NIPUN, inter-alia, includes on-site Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) of construction workers, and fresh skill training in job oriented courses in the construction and related sectors.
- This project aims to skill train over one lakh construction workers in the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) aligned courses, through a network of industry partners in construction sector and the related Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) i.e. Construction Skill Development Council of India (CSDCI), Water Management & Plumbing Skill Council (WMPSC) and Infrastructure and Equipment Sector skill Council (IESC).
- National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has been engaged as the implementation agency.
- Under RPL, certified candidates are extended benefits of the ‘Kaushal Bima’ i.e. three-years accidental insurance with coverage of ₹ 2 lakh. Further, training partners facilitate registration of eligible trainees under the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Building and other Construction Workers (BoCW).
- The project, which is of 1 year duration, is estimated to cost ₹ 93 crore. The project is being implemented on Pan-India basis at construction sites, identified in collaboration with Training Partners.
Conservation of water bodies
Paper 1 – Natural Resources
Why Should You Know?
Recently the Minister of State, for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu gave information about Conservation of water bodies, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
In details –
- Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the first Census of Water Bodies in convergence with the Sixth Minor Irrigation Census (reference year 2017-18) with the objective of developing a national database of all water bodies in the country.
- Though water is a State subject, Government of India has taken a number of important measures to identify and conserve such water bodies in a stipulated time frame. Key measures taken recently in this regard are listed below:
- Government of India is providing financial assistance to the States under Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) – Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP).
- Rejuvenation of water bodies is also a component under water supply sector of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme under Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs. AMRUT 2.0, launched in October, 2021.
- In 2019, Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched by the Government. This was followed in 2021 by “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain” (JSA:CTR) campaign.
- The JSA:CTR campaign for the year 2022 has been launched in March 2022, in all districts (rural as well as urban) of the country. The main theme of the campaign is “Catch the Rain, where it falls, when it falls”.
- Focused interventions under these annual campaigns taken up by the Government of India and the State Governments, inter alia, include renovation of traditional and other water bodies/ tanks, enumeration, geo-tagging and making inventory of all water bodies, and removal of encroachments of tanks/ lakes, and de-silting of tanks, and protection of water catchment area.
- Mission on Amrit Sarovar, aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country as a part of celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, has been launched in April, 2022.
- The Mission works through the States and districts, through refocusing of various ongoing schemes of the Government, as well as inclusion of citizen and non Government resources. The Mission is to be completed by 15th August 2023.
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) has provisions for public works relating to natural resource management, water conservation and water harvesting structures to augment and improve ground water like underground dykes, earthen dams, stop dams, check dams and roof top rain water harvesting structures in public buildings.
The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022
Paper 2 – Education
Why Should You Know?
Recently Lok Sabha passed the The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
In details –
- The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 1, 2022 and it is passed on august 3, 2022 in Lok Sabha.
- The Bill amends the Central Universities Act, 2009, which provides for establishing central universities in various states.
Key features –
Key features of the Bill include:
Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya:
- The Bill seeks to convert the National Rail and Transportation Institute, Vadodara (a deemed university) to the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, which will be a central university.
- The National Rail and Transportation Institute was declared a deemed university under the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.
- The Vishwavidyalaya will be sponsored and funded by the central government through the Ministry of Railways.
Scope of education:
- The Bill provides that Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya will take measures to provide quality teaching, research, and skill development in disciplines related to transportation, technology, and management.
- If required, the University may also establish centres in India and abroad. According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, establishment of the Vishwavidyalaya will address the need of trained talent in the transportation sector.
Appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor (VC):
- The existing VC of the National Rail and Transportation Institute will hold office for:
- (i) six months from when the Act is notified, or
- (ii) until a new VC for the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya is appointed, whichever is earlier.